A new summer exhibit has opened at Hands On! Regional Museum in downtown Johnson City.

Staff Report
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Jun 11, 2013 at 4:09 PM

A new summer exhibit has opened at Hands On! Regional Museum in downtown Johnson City.

Body Carnival: The Science and Fun of Being You, created by Catawba Science Center, uses carnival-themed components to explore the connections between perception and the laws of physics within the human body. Now through September 1st, visitors can understand the science of how their body works. Explore the concepts of force pressure, light, sound, mathematics, the laws of motion, and how our bodies interact with the world through a variety of exciting and engaging activities.

Eighteen components invite visitors to crawl through a giant artery to see (and hear) the effects of plaque build-up on blood flow; test their balance as they walk through the 10-foot long Dizzy Tunnel, which simulates a rotating star field; put on a pair of vision-distorting goggles and discover how sight affects the ability to walk straight; experiment in the House of Color with different sources of light; and "hear" through their bones and muscles while learning how these transmit sound, and more.

Component descriptions:

Balancing Act - Explore how the center of gravity and the base of an object affect stability at this four-sided table station.

Walk the Plank - Walk a 12-foot long balance beam with our without weights.

Dizzy Tunnel - Walk through a rotating star field and try to maintain your balance.

Goofy Goggles - Put on a pair o goggles with vision-distorting lenses and attempt to follow a zigzag yellow line on the floor.

Wacky Wall - Pulling on a rope makes the wall move from side to side, while at the same time, participants can try to stand on one foot and see if they can maintain their balance as they watch the wall move.

Get a Grip - Two sides of the table are equipped with hand models that demonstrate how tendons enable our hands to function. The third side has arms of three different lengths so visitors can experience how arm length affects leverage.

House of Colors - Experiment with sources of light to see the effects of varying wavelengths on the colors of different objects.

Tunnel of Blood - Crawl through a giant coronary artery with sculpted walls that simulate the build-up of arterial plaque. See and hear the effects of blood flow as its decreased by plaque build-up.

Circulation Station - Calculate how much water you drink daily, your heart rate and the mathematical relationship between your arm span and height.

Feel Music - Cover your ears and lean back against the sound cushion to "hear" through your bones and muscles.

Body Challenge - Three modules components for visitors to compare their physical an dneural activities with outher: Hang Time, Think Fast, and Sit and Reach.

Hands On! is located in downtown Johnson City at 315 E. Main St. Hours: Monday - Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 10am-5pm, and Sunday 1pm-5pm. For more information please call (423) 434-HAND (4263) or visit www.handsonmuseum.org.